Wretched Soul
by Tritessa Malaise
Summary: Dr. Fate and Zatanna have gone missing, two of the most powerful magicians in the world. What dark powers could be at work here? And with the death of Kid Flash, The Team refuses to lose yet another friend!
1. A Hero Gone Missing

The glow from the zeta beams dissipated and a silhouette began to take shape. Under the light of the half moon Zatanna's body stood in the middle of the dead forest; destroyed by a massive chemical fire from the Atomic Skull. The trees were singed and devoid of leaves. It seemed that even with years without human interaction the wildlife still was unable to grow. Bending down on one knee she picked up a handful of dirt rubbing it through her gloved hands. Even the dirt was still scorched with the fires of war. Dusting off her hands, she sighed as she stood up and looked around. This was where Dr. Fate had last been his mystic energy was everywhere. And yet…the Lord of Order seemed to be nowhere in sight.

"Where could he have gone?" she mumbled to herself as she began to look around.

Worried that he was in danger, she had come to check on his whereabouts. The League had been trying to reach him, but to no avail. Nobody knew she had left the Watchtower in search of her possessed father, which she knew could potentially be very dangerous but her concern outweighed her intelligence. Her heels dug into the soil, sinking inches down as she continued her search. She stopped when her eyes caught sight of something gleaming in the moonlight.

Zatanna rushed over to see the communicator given to all Leaguers lying on the ground. She picked it up and examined it, "It hasn't been damaged…just discarded…" Placing the equipment in her jacket pocket she looked all around her immediate area again, "Dad…where _are_you?!" she asked under her breath.

"Who might you be looking for little girl?" a taunting voice asked from the shadows.

Zatanna turned around, "You." she said with a glare. From the shadows Klarion the Witch Boy emerged with his classic menacing grin. "Dnib…mmm!" before she could complete her spell, Zatanna's mouth and body were bound, but not by Klarion.

"That was far too easy," he bemused with a pet of his familiar Teekl.

Another silhouette set their feet on the ground summoning a magical prison around Zatanna, "I told you, she would come looking for her father without any help. Humans are so predictable," they replied with a smirk, hidden by shadows. With a wave of their hand the three of them were gone, leaving no trace behind.


	2. The Team Assembled

"Aqualad, what's going on?" Miss Martian asked as she looked upon her leader's face. He seemed worried about something.

He looked up from the floor, "Zatanna has gone missing…"

Both Superboy and Miss Martian gasped in surprise, "When?!" she asked.

The Atlantean turned from his two teammates, a sigh escaping his lips. His thoughts wandered for a moment on everything that had happened in the last couple of months. First they lost Kid Flash, Tigress discards her old persona, Nightwing takes a leave of absence and now Zatanna was missing. It seemed that so many things were determined to tear their team apart! He knew that he would need to inform Tigress of her best friend's disappearance, and as a courtesy, Nightwing as well. That conversation would not go over well.

"Aqualad!" Superboy's voice boomed, bringing the hero out of his thoughts.

"Oh yes, forgive me. I seemed to have been lost in thought," he replied.

"So do you know what happened?" Miss Martian asked, as her hands wrapped around her boyfriend's arm in concern.

He shook his head in response, "I do not. All I know is that she went looking for the missing Dr. Fate by herself and she too ended up disappearing."

It had been two weeks since the disappearance of the all powerful magician and a week since Zatanna disappeared. Many Leaguers had been sent out to look for them, but with no luck. Although none of them were showing it, they all knew that the disappearance of the two most powerful magicians in the Justice League wasn't a good sign and something powerful was on its way. Without a way to find them, or with any knowledge of what happened, there was no way to find out what was in the works. Without any magicians powerful enough to find their location, the Justice League was searching blindly and had nowhere else to turn. They were stopped dead.

"Well we have to go searching for them!" Miss Martian exclaimed.

"No." Aqualad stated firmly, "We have other objectives to oversee and take care of. As much as I would like to search for our friend, we have duties to attend to and cannot."

"You're wrong." Batman's voice came from behind the Team leader.

"Batman…" Aqualad began to question.

The veteran hero put up his hand, "I've already recalled Tigress. This is a job for The Team, mainly you four. You grew up with Zatanna and maybe a fresh, young pair of eyes will have better luck then the rest of us."

Aqualad nodded, "Thank you Batman."

A Batman was walking away Tigress came jogging up to them from the zeta tubes. Her blond hair swayed against her back and flipped against her shoulders as she came to a stop in front of them. She looked a little battered from her mission, but otherwise unharmed. Superboy pushed Miss Martian's hands off his arm and greeted his teammate with concern for her injuries, although she brushed them off as nothing. Miss Martian looked to Superboy with confusion as to him brushing her aside, wondering what his problem was. This type of behavior had been going on for a few months and he refused to tell her what was on his mind. As a promise to him, she no longer read his mind and thus allowed herself to be kept in the dark about his thoughts.

"I heard what happened," Tigress said, "Where do we start in looking for Zatanna?" she asked sternly, upset that some villain had the audacity to abduct one of her friends.

"We start at Zatanna's last known location," Aqualad replied quickly.

The Team appeared in the burned down forest Zatanna had last been. The four of them looked around from where they stood; it looked like nothing was left. A barren wasteland of what used to be a beautiful forest on a small island. The air was still teaming with the radiation the fire burned with. Never again would plant life live on this island; it was destined to be a wasteland of decay and death from now on. The dirt beneath their feet almost felt like mud, only more dense, yet not like clay. Ashen trees stood, black and barren as if death was all they knew. It was a shame that no matter what anyone had tried, nothing had been able to grow here. On the instruction of Aqualad the four spread out to search for anything they could find.

Miss Martian followed Superboy, hoping to get some answers, "Conner, what's wrong?" she asked floating next to him as they searched.

"Hm? What'd you mean?" he asked.

"You've been acting strange the last few months, ignoring me, brushing me off…stuff like that," she replied looking a little sad as she moved a large rock with her telekinesis.

Superboy looked back at her, "You're really going to ask me that now? When we're in the middle of searching for Zatanna who is in potential danger?"

"I'm just worried that something's wrong!" she retaliated, a tree uprooting because of her small outburst.

"Nothing's wrong alright," he huffed, brushing off her feeling of anxious insecurities and walking away from her.

Dropping to her feet slowly, she watched his back as he walked away from her. M'gann put up the hood on her cape and let her head drop in silent depression, slowly walking in the opposite direction Superboy was going. She knew now that something really was on his mind and she had to keep telling herself not to pry into his mind. He knew her mental touch and would instantly know she was rifling through his thoughts if she did. It was so hard to keep herself from knowing and waiting until he was ready to tell her, she was going crazy!

Superboy let his eyes wander over his shoulder at the alien walking in the opposite direction as him. Sure, he felt bad for hurting her feelings but he wasn't ready to talk about things with her. It was probably a mistake on his part, considering he wasn't the best about talking about feelings, but he just needed his space. Why didn't he just say that to her? Was it easier for him to just push her away rather than talk to her? For him, it was. He was so confused! He felt bad for hurting her, but at the same time he didn't. With a grunt of annoyance at himself, he kicked a boulder as hard as he could shattering it to pieces. Tigress looked back at her teammates and almost instantly knew something was up between the two that had seemed to have the rockiest relationship out of their whole group.

"This is useless!" Tigress shouted in anger. "We can't find anything here!"

The four of them regrouped, "You're right," Aqualad stated, placing a hand to his chin in thought.

"What we need is Nightwing," Superboy suggested.

"You know as well as I that he has taken a leave of absence," their leader replied.

"Yeah but he's the best detective we know, next to Batgirl, but she's busy on a mission so we're stuck," Miss Martian agreed with Superboy. "We need to ask for his help. I'm sure if he knew it was about Zatanna he would help us," she added.

"Okay, but even so, he's probably busy with school or work," Tigress stated.

Aqualad sighed heavily, "We'll just have to give it a try."

The four of them boarded the Bio Ship and set off for Bludhaven without a word. Things were strained between the group now that Kid Flash was gone and they knew he was never coming back. Sure they had tried to search for him, thinking that maybe he had just been zapped to another dimension or somewhere else in the world. There had been no such luck. They knew for a fact that he was gone, and gone for good. Artemis, now dubbed Tigress, had grown bitter, angry and increasingly distant from The Team since the news of his permanent disappearance. There was no bringing him back and it hurt her to the very core. She loved him with all her heart and soul; now she was going to have to walk through this world without him. She wished, more then anything, that she could just feel his touch again. His comfort was all she wanted. A tear slipped from her eye, getting caught by her mask. Shaking her head, she pushed, with great effort, her thoughts of Wally away. She needed to stay focused.

With the sun still shinning overhead, they could see Bludhaven coming into their view. None of them knew Nightwing's personal schedule so they had made the unanimous decision to wait for him at his apartment, having been there for his birthday months before. Parking the Bio Ship on the roof of his apartment building, the four of them got of the ship and made their way to the fourth floor from the roof. Standing in front of apartment 414, Tigress picked the lock to allow them in, locking it behind her so Nightwing wouldn't get suspicious and attack them.

With a tick of the clock, it read five o'clock. Aqualad looked out the window and saw the setting sun illuminating the sky, silhouetting the bodies of Miss Martian and Superboy who had stepped out to talk privately. They had been waiting for about an hour and all but him had made themselves at home in their friend's apartment. Tigress was making herself something to eat, just as Dick walked through his front door.

"Caldur? Artemis? What are you two doing here?" he asked as he placed his keys on the small table near his door and threw his backpack on his couch. "And why are you eating my food?" he asked, looking at Artemis with a raised brow.

She shrugged, "I got hungry waiting for you."

"Waiting…How long have the two of you been here?" he asked.

"We are not alone," Aqualad replied, motioning to the couple on Dick's balcony. Dick looked in their direction, wondering why they were outside.

"They needed…'alone time'," Artemis said through her bite of the sandwich she had made, reading Dick's expression of curiosity.

Dick nodded and sat on the nearest chair, "Okay, so why are you here?" he asked, crossing his arms across his chest.

"We need your help," Aqualad replied.

"Whoa." Dick put his hands up, "I told you six months ago that I'm not doing the hero thing for a while."

Artemis rolled her eyes, "Yeah we know, but this is serious otherwise we wouldn't be here."

Aqualad stood up from the seat he had taken, looking at his friend with intensity, "Zatanna is missing."

Dick instantly stood up with eyes wide, "What?!" The sound of his voice caused the couple on the balcony to come back inside.

"She's been missing for a week now…along with Dr. Fate. We've been sent in to investigate but don't have the proper detective skills required to find any solid clues," Aqualad continued.

Without a word, Dick walked out of his living room and into his bedroom. The four of them looked between each other, before looking down the hall. Miss Martian commented that he must be really upset about Zatanna's disappearance for him to just leave the room without a word to them. He was the best at hiding emotions, but even they could tell the visible display of anger. Moments later he came back dressed in his Nightwing costume.

"I know where to start," he stated as he put on his mask.


	3. Whisper Gate

The Bio Ship touched down on the rooftop of a building in the dead of night. Street lamps illuminated the streets and cobblestone sidewalk, giving the town an eerie feeling. Nightwing jumped off the roof, followed quickly by his friends, and looked around. No one inhabited the streets. As if the powers that be knew of their arrival a thick fog began to roll in, blanketing the town in a sharp cold that chilled the bones. With the fog, the streets were dampened and gave this particular Louisiana town the classic frightful, voodoo feel. At such an hour of the night, it made sense though as too why no one was walking about. Miss Martian visibly shivered from the cold, wrapping her arms around herself, also feeling the creeping dread upon her psyche.

"Come on," Nightwing said, turning around and opening the door they had been standing in front of.

Stepping inside from the cold, the door slammed behind them and the fire from gas lamps roared to life. In their light shelves upon shelves of books and jars surrounded them. A long, glass counter with a cash register sitting on top was to their left and large red curtain straight in front of them. The shop smelled of incense and dust. As the flames flickered in their glass containers four of them began looking around the shop, whilst Nightwing didn't budge from his spot. Superboy fund his way to a large shelf of jars glowing all different colors, picking one up and bringing it close to his face. Inside he saw a town, shrunk to the side of a baseball; people and all! Miss Martian drifted over to a tall shelf filled to the brim with books. Picking one up, she blew the dust off it and opened it. Tigress walked over to the counter to see various pieces of jewelry locked inside. Aqualad made his way down further, finding a small corner full of weapons.

"It's magic!" Miss Martian exclaimed, looking up from the book she was reading.

At the sound of her voice, a rather large, burly man pushed aside the red, velvet curtains, "Put that down!" he hollered at the Martian. She squeaked and quickly did as she was told.

"Who are you?" Superboy asked, his muscles tense incase of a fight.

"I am Wretch, assistant to Lady Sugar," he replied courtly.

The Team looked at him intently. Wretch was a good eight feet tall, bulging muscles and a baled head. His face seemed scared and stitched together, a scary scowl plastered on his face; which was in stark contrast to his kind voice. His giant body barely seemed to fit between the threshold, let alone the building itself. Dressed in body armor made of some type of metal alloy that didn't over bulk his already large body, he seemed ready to fight anyone. As they stared at the imposing assistant, that's when the second name struck a cord with the team.

"Sugar?" Tigress questioned.

Wretch nodded, "Yes, if you're hear to see Lady Sugar you must wait your turn. She's with a client right now. If you like you may sit and wait, or browse the shop for anything you may like to purchase." With those words, he disappeared back behind the curtains leaving the group to themselves.

"Why are we here Nightwing?" Tigress asked, going back to the case of jewelry.

"To see the woman behind the curtain," he replied.

Superboy scoffed, "Anyone named Sugar…has to be a hoax. We flew all the way to Louisiana for nothing." He crossed his arms and leaned against the nearest wall not covered in some type of magical item.

"She's no hoax…" Nightwing muttered quietly. "I've seen her powers. She's the only one that can really help us." Superboy, Aqualad and Tigress looked at him; Miss Martian looking through the books again.

Forty-five minutes ticked by before a woman came walking out from behind the curtains. She seemed elated about whatever it was she had been talking with Sugar about. Wretch walked out and motioned for The Team to follow him back. Without a word, they followed him to the back of the shop and through another large red curtain. Lifting up the heavy fabric for them, they all filed into the rather spacious room where five chairs had been set up for them at the only table in the room. The table was draped in a fine, silken purple cloth, a smaller darker shaded one on top and a single deck of cards sitting in the very middle. The walls all had red curtains on them, giving the place a fairly mystical feel. All five of them sat down, and once they did the only set of white curtains at the very back of the room moved.

"Welcome to Whisper Gate-" the feminine voice began.

"Cut the act Sugar. It's me," Nightwing cut in. There was a visible change in her demeanor when she heard him speak.

She sighed heavily, "Okay fine," she said as she took off the black cloth hiding most of her face.

Dropping the cloth on the table, she ran her fingers through her hair, messing it up a little. Bringing her head up, the five of them got a good look at the one people called Sugar. She was a young woman, early twenties at best. She had rich, tan skin; the color of caramel or even cinnamon. Her long, luscious and wavy black hair curtained her like a blanket of darkness but made her eyes seem to glow! The sweet white makeup the covered her face with offset with deep reds and blues and black that swirled her face in the design of a sugar skull painting, only bringing out the color of her Heterochromatic eyes even more; one green and one gold. Her average, but well kept body was dressed in a purple one shoulder top, the collar a white ruffle and the hem gold with gold metal hanging against her skin. A gold belt with gold links on her hips, keeps the purple and white, mid thigh length skirt from fall from her waist. A single gold bracelet hangs from her right wrists while red fabric is tied around her upper left arm. Gold bangle earrings hang from her ears and a gold necklace with a sapphire hangs from her neck.

"Why are you here?" she asks, sitting in her seat. As Nightwing is about to answer, she holds up her hand, with long nails painted purple, "Wait, don't answer that." She stands from her seat, turning her back to them and waving her hands about, "I don't even need to ask. If you're here I'm sure you want me to do something heroic and life threatening. That's what you always ask of me."

Nightwing is quiet for a moment, "I need you to find someone for me, actually," he answered like she had never interrupted him.

She stops, looking over her shoulder at him with her golden eye, "Is that so?"

Slowly she turns back around, sitting in her seat once again and looks at the hero intensely. Her different colored eyes narrow as if she's trying to read his expression. As she's doing this, Superboy is sitting at the table staring at her; mystified by her beauty. She's an average woman, possibly of Hispanic decent and to him she's simply gorgeous! He can't take his eyes off her. She's undeniably human, but she's unlike anything he's ever seen. A mysterious beauty that you read about in books. Miss Martian looks over at her boyfriend, wondering why he seems to be staring at this woman so intently. Looking away from him, she turns her gaze to the table, wrestling with herself if she should take a peak into his mind or not.

"No." Sugar's voice stated, breaking everyone's thoughts.

"What?!" Nightwing shouted. He jumped up from his seat, slammed his hands on the table and glared at her, "What do you mean 'no'?" he hissed.

Sugar looked at his hands slowly balling into fists on her table, hearing Wretch growling beside her and getting closer. Looking up at Nightwing, she raised a hand to stop her bodyguard and slowly stood up, "I said no. I'm not helping you find your girlfriend and her father," she repeated.

Nightwing visibly tensed, "Wait, how do you know we're looking for two people?" Aqualad asked, trying to defuse the situation quickly.

Her mutated eyes look to the leader of The Team, "I'm a fortune teller, it's what I do!" she replied with a smile. Turning back to Nightwing she became serious, "Look, I get that you're upset over your girlfriend's kidnapping but I'm not helping you. I'm no hero, I'm an advisor; nothing more."

"Whoa! Whoa Whoa! Back up a second," Tigress butt in, "Did you say kidnapped?"

Sugar looked up at the tall blond. Her eyes seemed to widen a bit as she stared, earning a strange look from everyone else. Beside the heroine, stood a young man with red hair and blue eyes. He seemed built and toned and connected to this hero. She saw him looking at all of them, the tiger clad heroine especially, with love in his eyes and a true sorrow she had never seen. As she continued to stare, he looked away from them and to the fortune teller. Sugar gasped as their eyes met and a wave of pain, regret, love and most of all, sadness washed over her. He seemed so sad that he had left them all so suddenly, especially the woman talking to her now. He loved her with all his heart, with all his soul and it felt unbearable to have left her the way he did. Although he would not change his action for anything, he wished he could change the outcome.

"Hey!" Tigress snapped her fingers in Sugar's face, causing her to blink rapidly.

"Sorry…" she mumbled, shaking her head and coming out of the trance the overwhelming emotions had put her in. "What was I talking abou-oh! Right! Look, I can't help you…" she paused, looking back at Nightwing, "I know you don't want to lose another friend but there's nothing I can do. I'm a neutral party."

Tigress' eyes narrowed and she reached over the table, grabbing Sugar by her collar, "Watch it. That 'other friend' was my boyfriend," she hissed venomously.

"Here, I'll get her to talk," Miss Martian finally spoke up, placing a gentle hand on Tigress' shoulder.

Tigress let her go as Miss Martian stared into Sugar's eyes, her own glowing red. It was a long few minutes as they watched the two women stare at each other. Neither of them moved an inch as Miss Martian probed Sugar's mind. Wretch watched the group with increased alertness because of their outbursts against his master. Aqualad went to reach for the tarot deck sitting in the middle of the table when Sugar's eyes twitched and Miss Martian was sent flying into the wall. She slid to the floor, holding her head and whimpering in pain. Never had they seen anyone withstand a probe from Miss Martian! She was the strongest telepath they knew of.

"Don't touch my tarot cards and don't play with the big leagues Martian," she sneered, unamused by the blatant attempt to break into her mind. "Go home, the lot of you! You're banished from my shop for the rest of your lives!" she shouted, raising her hands into the air, the flames from the lamps growing bigger and wind howling around them. The Team was dropped outside the magic shop, the door slamming shut behind them before any of them could get on their feet.


	4. Fear and Loathing

Sugar turned from the front door of her shop, staring straight into the grey eyes of her bodyguard, "What are you staring at?!" she asked with a scoff while walking back to the back of her shop.

"That was very rude of you Ma'am," he replied, following her.

"Hah! How do you figure that?!" she bemused with a laugh.

Wretch stopped following, "They needed your help and you know that. If you're a neutral party then it's you're duty to help them."

Sugar stopped at the curtain blocking her entranced to the very back of her shop, mulling over what Wretch had just said. He was right. She was a neutral party and helping them locate their friend was apart of that job. However, it was Nightwing asking her and something dangerous always came out of helping him. Her hand came up to her left arm where the red cloth lay bound against her skin. Wretch was right! The fortune teller rolled her mismatched eyes in dismay. Her henchmen. Her bodyguard. The thing that was supposed to listen to her, was right! This was something she would never live down if she admitted to it. Turning from the velvet fabric, she looked Wretch in the eye, huffing and slumping her shoulders. He was the type to bring up past transgression if she said he was right; he still did that with whole The Light thing.

She scoffed, "Oh what do you know?! You're dead."

Turning back from him, she pushed aside the curtains and walked up the stairs that lead to the small apartment on top of the magic shop. Stupid zombie, she thought as she walked up the stairs. Always has to get in my business! Ugh! There's just no peace with him, she continued. From downstairs she could hear him shouting at her to think of the karmatic implications of her denying people help. It was obvious he was trying to make her feel bad for her decision to make them leave and deny them her help. Flopping onto her bed, she pulled a pillow over her head as to try and down out his voice. It worked; for a moment.

"Alright!" she shouted, removing the pillow from her head. "You win alright! Sheesh! I'll help the stupid heroes!"

"That's a very good idea Ma'am! Try not to let The Sir know of your adventure," he shouted from downstairs.

Sugar rolled her eyes, "Ugh, don't even bring that jack hole into this!" Muttering to herself below her breath, she grabbed a bag and filled it with some things that she might need; like a first aid kit.

* * *

"Well that's just great! What are we going to do now?" Tigress asked angrily, "You just had to threaten her first didn't you?!"

"How is this my fault?" Nightwing asked incredulously.

Superboy looked at Miss Martian with worry, "Are you going to be alright?" he asked.

She nodded slowly, feeling a twinge of pain, "Mhm, just a headache. But she's powerful."

"What happened?" he asked.

"She pushed me out…" she answered, looking at him like she had done something wrong. The two of them looked up at their fighting teammates.

"That two of you need to stop this!" Aqualad shouted. "Do you really think that this is how Wally would have wanted us to act?"

"…Wally's gone. He can't stop us from being who we are," Nightwing said, "And I have a feeling, so will Zatanna soon enough."

"Wow…." A voice laughed, coming from beside them, "Is you're team always like this? Or just on days you get kicked out of a magic shop?" Sugar asked with a hand on her hip and a smirk on her painted lips.

"What are you doing here?" Tigress asked, still angered by her refusal to help them.

Sugar put her hands up in defense, "Whoa there kitty, I had a change of heart." Looking between all five of them, she sighed, dropping her head and running a hand through her hair, "Alright fine! Wretch made me feel guilty and made me come along alright. He might be a huge dead guy, but he's a persuasive dead guy," she answered in utter defeat.

"You don't like admitting that you're wrong, do you?" Nightwing asked, crossing his arms.

"Mmm…" she looked up at the foggy sky, thinking about what he asked before pursing her lips and shaking her head, "No, not really."

There was a sigh from Aqualad, knowing that this was going to be a chore, "What do you need in order to help us?" he asked, taking a step or two forward.

"Going to her last location should be good enough. I should be able to get a good reading from there," she replied with a small shrug.

"Alright then! Let's all get the ship and be on our way," he commanded of his team.

Sugar was lifted into the air with the rest of the team when his words struck her, "Wait! Did you say…" she paused as her eyes rested on the red alien ship sitting on the roof of her building, "…Ship?"

Biting into her bottom lip, she apprehensively followed the five heroes aboard the Bio Ship. Flying was not her style. She had a fear of heights and of course they were going to have to fly. Sugar sat down in the only available seat, gasping lightly as the ship strapped her in. Her eyes looked up from the alien tech and looked at the superheroes as they were all strapped in and the ship was beginning take off. Instantly her hand gripped her seat, her tan knuckles turning white in the process. Superboy looked over, noticing the look of fear on her face and the white knuckle grip she had on her seat.

"Are you afraid of flying?" he asked, leaning over in his seat.

Her eyes shifted to look over at him, her green eye being the more prominent as she did so, "Terrified."

He chuckled softly, "Well just think of it like falling through sand. Or when you're floating in water; same thing."

"Those are so not the same thing!" she replied through gritted teeth.

"Here…" he unbuckled himself from his seat and stood up, earning a stare of insanity from Sugar. "I'll help," he said as he stretched his hand out towards her.

"You must be nuts if you think I'm undoing my seatbelt," she scoffed, staring from his hand to his eyes.

Without a word and a smirk on his lips, he reached down and undid her seatbelt, "There we go," he said, earning a terrified gasp of horror from the fortune teller.

"ARE YOU CRAZY?!" she shouted and in her haste to rebuckle her seatbelt, Superboy grabbed her hand and pulled her to her feet.

Miss Martian watched as her boyfriend tried to help this mean fortune teller overcome her fear of flying. Why was he touching her so gingerly? That look in his eyes, it seemed almost like he was attracted to her! That couldn't be! He loved her, she knew it! Didn't she? They had been through rough times, but in the end, their love was a strong one; right? She had nothing to worry about with this woman. This Sugar character was no threat to her. It was okay for men to be physically attracted to other women. If that were really the case, then why was she feeling such a gut wrenching sense of doubt? The Bio Ship took note of her broken concentration and quickly dipped to everyone's right, causing Sugar to topple onto Superboy.

"Oh gosh! I'm sorry everyone!" Miss Martian squealed as quickly corrected the ship.

Sugar pushed herself up, a knee between Superboy's legs, hands on either side of his neck. Her black hair fell over her shoulders, blocking both their faces from view of the others as they stared at each other. Superboy looked into her mismatched eyes, mesmerized by their mutation. He had never met anyone with such a strange quirk about them. Over the years he had met many super beings with a wide array of superpowers, but to him, this seemed completely new. It was exciting! Sugar stared back into his crystal blue eyes, a light pink tinting her cheeks. It had been a long time since she was this close to another person and she felt nervous. However, that nervous feeling faded quickly. A bloodcurdling scream echoed in her mind, along with a flash of a hooded skull, causing her eyes to widen and a visible jump of her body.

Quickly she got off of Superboy and ran to the nearest window of the Bio Ship. Placing her hands on the glass, she looked down at the ground below, "Here! Here! Set us down!" she exclaimed hurriedly, turning back to Miss Martian.

Setting the Bio Ship down, the hatch opened and Sugar quickly ran out, "What's wrong?" Nightwing asked following after her.

Not listening to them, she jogged out into the open clearing surrounded by a large group of dead trees. Standing in the middle, Sugar got on her knees slowly, placing her hand against the dirt. She could feel it. The magical energy emanating from the encounter by a small group of magic users; it was thick in the air. Her head came up to see a young, Caucasian man walking towards them. His eyes were a sinister red and the smug smirk he carried on his lips only seemed to reinforce the look of evil. The single, large patch of white hair in his see of raven black illuminated against the rising sun of the new day; the wind brushing the short locks into his face but not obstructing his view. He wore a black pant suit, perfectly pressed and neat, with a blood red vest and snow white, collared dress shirt and a simple pair of nice brown loafers.

Each of them looked upon the man in black and eyed him wearily. His very presence gave them all an uneasy feeling, as if to challenge their very mortality. It was a feeling none of them could place, but the gut feeling of dread was heavy on them all. This man, this posh stranger, carried an air of darkness around him. You could practically see the thick black fog that followed behind him. The Team, although uneasy, all stood on their guard as he came ever closer to them. Was this the man behind the abduction of Zatanna and Dr. Fate? Was he merely in conjunction with those that were responsible? Did he know something about what happened? These were all questions racing in their minds.

Sugar stood up, the dark winds of this dead forest blowing her hair around her shoulders, "What are you doing here?" she asked, a look of distain on her beautiful features.

The man stopped, smirking at them as he looked dead into the eyes of their advisor, "I'm here for the same reasons you are."

"Don't you lie to me!" she stated firmly.

The man looked away from her, taking his gaze towards the sky. His red eyes closed as he felt the wind of death touch his pale skin, "Feel that?" he asked, turning his attention back to them, "Death is in the air." He smirked again, as if knowing something they didn't.

"Be gone you unholy nave," she spat with a narrowed gaze. There was an amused glint in his eyes as he stared at them all. It was a look of knowing; of seeing. Without a word, he turned back the way he had come and began walking away.

"Who was that? He gave me the heebee jeebees," Miss Martian asked, wrapping her arms around herself and visibly shaking from the fright he had caused her.

Sugar watched his retreating back intensely, "Trust me…You don't want to know…" she replied softly, with a degree of spite in her tone.


	5. Red

"Do you need anything to help you search or…" Aqualad asked, not knowing the extent of her abilities or what she actually required to look for someone the League could not find.

"Just a few minutes should be fine," she replied, sitting on the ground Indian style. She placed her hands on her knees, palms up and closed her eyes, taking in deep breaths of the stale air.

The Team stood watching as Sugar sat there and meditated. They weren't sure what to expect from this fortune teller and most of them wondered how someone who tells the future could possibly help them locate their friends. Nightwing however, knew all that he needed. He had seen her powers first hand way back in his beginning days as Robin. There was no convincing needed on his part, even though he had never seen her try to find someone. He wasn't even sure if she could do something like that back then; they were small children at the time after all. They all watched in anticipating silence, all wondering what would happen and maybe even hoping something spectacular would happen.

Sugar took in deep breaths of air, exhaling them slowly and silently. With her eyes closed and her breathing steady, she jumped further and further away from the outside world. The quiet air, the calming breeze, they all helped her find her center, her core where she release her psychic energy and try to find these two missing heroes. As the moments ticked by, the wind began to slowly increase speed around them all. A thin purple aura coated her body as she levitated off the ground, a small whirlwind taking form around them. While they were watching her levitate a foot off the ground, they weren't able to see the wave of mental energy explode from her mind and sweep across the city. They saw her heard jolt back and the look of pain on her face as she dropped to the ground on her butt, groaning.

"Sugar!" Nightwing was the first one to jump to her side and see if she was okay, "Are you alright? What happened?"

"Uhn…." She groaned, holding her head. "Ugh, yeah…" she slowly looked up at him, "I'm fine, just a headache. I don't do that enough to sweep a city effectively without it hurting." She replied, pulling away from him and shakily getting to her feet.

"What do you mean?" Tigress asked, a little confused.

"I mean that I don't go looking through a whole city of minds looking for people on a regular basis," she said as Nightwing helped her to her feet, "I talk to the spirits and Entities. Doing a sweep that massive is hard."

"So you're a telepath. That explains a lot," Miss Martian said as she felt a little validated about not being able to read Sugar's mind.

The tan young woman cracked her neck before replying, "Mmm, telepath is such a narrow term. I'm more of a psychic then solely a telepath."

"So, were you able to find anything then?" Nightwing asked, not even bothering to mask his curiosity and strife.

She shook her head, "They aren't here in the city…Or they're really good at hiding themselves, though you'd be amazed at how many people leave themselves open." She replied listlessly, "But! I brought something that can help…" she paused as she walked away from them and back to the Bio Ship. It took her a minute or two before she came back out, holding something gleaming in her hands, "After rummaging around in your head, Nightwing, I figured I had better bring this little guy along." She held up a metal band that looked as if it fit around her head, with little lights evenly spaced around the band.

Nightwing looked at it, then to her, "Sugar, despite the blatant invasion of privacy from you going through my head, you can't use that."

"What is it?" Superboy asked curiously, watching as she placed it on her head and watching as the blue lights lit up.

"Oh, just something from my childhood. Helps me concentrate and amplify my powers," she replied nonchalantly.

"It's an unstable S.T.A.R. piece of technology that-" Nightwing began.

"I do need quiet though to actually be able to concentrate," Sugar cut in before he could really go into any detail about the device.

Nightwing looked over at her, silently understanding why she had cut him off so abruptly but still weary of the technology. Sugar took in a deep breath, shook her hands and flopped onto the ground. With her palms facing upward on her knees, she closed her eyes and began to mentally activate the headband. With a sudden gasp, her eyes flashed open glowing purple, her body being outlined in the same purple aura as before. Within a flash, a dust tornado sprang up around the six of them; Superboy covered Miss Martian, Aqualad protected Tigress and Nightwing shielded his eyes while looking up at Sugar. Her long black hair whipped around wildly, the dangling jewelry clinking together and her skirt barely even being able to stay flat as the sudden gust only seemed to get more violent around them.

"Sugar! Stop…!" Nightwing shouted at her through the roar of the wind.

There was no response from the psychic as her body stay floating in the air, still sitting Indian style. Without counting her hair, her entire body hadn't budged an inch since the tornado began. Nightwing tried to reach out and grab her, to try and break her concentration, but it seemed the harder she concentrated the harsher the winds got. Particles of dirt were becoming dangerous as their skin started sporting multiple lacerations and all of them were barely able to stand upright. The former leader of The Team called out to Superboy, whose super hearing was able to pick up his voice. Superboy left the side of Miss Martian and walked into the cloud of dirt that had cut of vision from the others.

Reaching the middle, Superboy saw Sugar's unmoving body levitating in the center, glowing like a beacon. He noticed that she was not exempt from the sharpened dirt particles and had been given a few cuts as her clothes were a little shredded as well. Looking at her, he knew that just trying to talk to her would be useless; he had dated a telepath long enough to know that when in a concentrated state like that it was nearly impossible to break them out of it. There had to be something he could do to snap her out of it! The thought of just ripping the metal band from her head crossed his mind, but he didn't know if there would be ramifications if he did. Superboy reached up and grabbed her, pulling her down and slapped her. Sugar gasped and almost instantly the whirlwind stopped. Before anyone could ask what happened, or if she were okay, she passed out in Superboy's grip.

* * *

Half the day was gone by the time Sugar woke up. Opening her groggy, mismatched eyes, Sugar looked around and saw that everyone but Superboy was gone. The Bio Ship was also gone. Groaning in pain, she begrudgingly got to her feet and looked around. Superboy was a few feet away from her, his back turned to her and looked as if he was rifling through dead trees and dirt. There was no warning when her knees suddenly buckled from under her, taking a sharp inhale of breath as she hit the dirt. Superboy's super hearing allowed him to hear her fall to her knees and walk over to her, not having noticed she had woken up.

"Are you alright?" he asked, bending down to her level.

She grunted painfully, "Ugh, yeah, just fine. Just…uhn…a little pain," she replied. "Where'd everyone go?" she asked slowly looking up at him.

"They went to go check other leads since you were knocked out for most of the day. See if they could find anything while they we were waiting…" he paused and turned away from her for a moment only to turn back and set her bag down in front of her, "I grabbed this for you though; figured you might need it seeing as that dust storm nearly shredded your clothes into nothing."

Sugar looked down at her clothes, "Oh…thanks…" she mumbled as she sat back and grabbed her bag.

"So…you wanna tell me what happened?" he asked, watching as she grabbed some clothes out o the bag.

Sugar turned around, her back facing him, and began removing her shirt. The red scarf that was tied off against her arm was the first thing to come off, allowing Superboy to see a large scar wrapping around her arm that looked as if the skin had scared over stitches. Once she removed her shirt he blushed and quickly looked away, trying to give her privacy. The strange scar caused a stir in his curiosity though; wondering where and how she had gotten it.

Grabbing the shirt she had pulled out of her bag, she slipped it on, moving it around a little until it felt comfortable. It was nothing but a simple white t-shirt with an intricate, green floral vine design with a butterfly. Removing the bangle belt and purple skirt, she put on a pair of pants made of a denim like material and clasped a brown leather belt around her waist. Slipping her shoes back on, she grabbed the red scar and tied it tightly around the scar on her left arm again. When she finally turned around, she looked at the blushing Superboy oddly.

"Is there something wrong?" she asked.

Slowly he let his eyes travel to her being, noting that she was fully clothed now, "No, nothing!" he replied quickly, but then let his mouth speak before he thought, "What happened to your arm to give you that scar?" he asked, motioning to the scarf tied around her arm.

For a moment, she didn't say anything or make a move of any kind, but after that moment passed she untied the scarf and lifted her sleeve a little, "This is a reminder why I'm neutral. Why I don't cross over between sides and put on a costume….When I was younger, I got caught in an explosion saving someone's life. I almost lost my arm in the process," she dropped her sleeve and began fiddling with the scarf, trying to tie it back around her arm. The talk about how it happened caused her fingers to fumble and Superboy gently grabbed at the ends, tying it off for her as she continued, "Obviously they were able to save it, but I lost almost all circulation to it. If the circulation is cut off in anyway it becomes agonizingly painful and that pins and needles feeling all through out it."

"….Can I ask…Whose life did you save?" he asked softly, looking at the scarf before looking into her sad eyes.

"Mine." Nightwing's voice answered from behind them as the rest of The Team came walking up behind them. "But that was a long time ago. Sugar, were you able to find anything?" he asked, putting the subject of her arm to rest.

She pulled her arm away from Superboy's touch and nodded, "Yes, they're in Brazil."


	6. Wondrous Crusader

"Brazil, why are they all the way out there?" Miss Martian asked as they all looked between each other.

Sugar yawned, "I don't know. And I don't know exactly where they are from here, but there's a huge concentration of magical energy brewing there." She yawned again, stretching her body, "I think it's time for bed!"

"It's only 3:22pm, you've got to be kidding," Tigress stated, placing a hand on her hip.

"Hey! When you expend large amounts of your mental energy, then you can tell me what time it is. For now, I'm exhausted; that took a lot out of me," Sugar spat with a glare at the heroine. She turned to Nightwing, "If you don't mind, I helped find your friends like you asked. Can I go home now?"

The veteran hero cocked a brow before sighing, "You're right. You did help us find Zatanna and Fate, so yes…you can go home," he replied with his well known charming smile and the soothing voice of a job well done. Nightwing turned to his teammate, "Miss M, do you mind taking her home?"

"No, of course not!" she replied, levitating off the ground and making her way towards her ship.

"Alright, later. And please, don't ever come back to my shop; I don't want to see your faces again," Sugar said with a half smile as she turned her back to them and followed after Miss Martian.

The two ladies boarded the Bio Ship and took off from the island. The ride back home was quiet and uneventful, although Sugar detected feelings of contempt, jealousy and confusion. As she stepped off the Bio Ship, she watched the Martian craft leave the Louisiana skies. Using the rooftop access, she mulled over her recent experience with Nightwing and his friends. Although she didn't have much of a taste for Nightwing, she did have to admit to herself it was nice to see him again after so many years apart. Unusually, she felt a smile tug at her lips. Stopping on the staircase, she touched her fingertips to her lips, feeling the physical smile she did in fact have on her face.

With a scoff, she shook her head, rolled her eyes and continued down the stairs to her small apartment above her magic shop. There waiting for her was her faithful zombie Wretch, keeping the place tidy and manageable. Sighing heavily, she told Wretch that she was going to bed early and not to wake her for anything. Hearing his reply, she changed into her pajamas (which was just a large t-shirt) and slipped under the covers of her bed. The moment her head hit the pillow, she was out like a light!

* * *

With a start, Sugar jolted upright in her bed. Her breathing was labored as she sat up in a cold sweat, her chest rising and falling rapidly. The sound of her sudden alertness caused Wretch to come to her side, "Ma'am, what's wrong?!" he asked.

Her heterochromatic eyes were wide as she stared at her bed, still breathing heavily. She brought a hand to her forehead, feeling the cold, clammy feeling of her skin, "I….I had this…horrible nightmare," she replied between pants.

"What was it about?" he asked, concern showing on his face for his master.

Slowly she looked up at him from the bed, "Death…" she replied grimly, "Is coming."

Without another word to her subservient dead, she quickly jumped out of bed and bustled about her room changing into clothes. Dressing into the clothes she wears when running her magic shop, she grabbed a small backpack to start throwing things she might need into it. She ran up and down her shop, grabbing books and magical items stored there with her and throwing them into her bag. Her eyes glanced out her window, seeing the pitch black night outside. Walking to the window, she thrust the small glass doors open and looked up at the sky. Nothing. She saw absolutely nothing. There were no stars, no moon, not even street lamps top illuminate the darkness. Everything was just black.

"It's already begun…" she mumbled to herself as she looked over her shoulder and began packing more things. "Wretch, get the headband," she ordered, not bothering to look at the burly zombie.

"No," he replied blatantly.

She stopped, turning all of her attention to him, "I'm sorry, what?" she asked, dropping what was in her hand and staring at him.

"I said no, that thing is too dangerous for you," he said again, going into further detail as to his objection.

"I don't think you understand," she began, anger seeping from her words, "I have to get in touch with Nightwing and his friends. They are too far away from my touch, I was able to call out to them but it would only be a whisper to them. As if they heard it through the wind. They are in danger! Get my amplifier!" she screamed at him, her eyes glowing purple as she glared at him angrily.

"…Yes ma'am," Wretch replied, his own eyes glossing over. Doing as he was told, he brought her headband to her, after he had put it away when she had returned.

Putting it on, Sugar floated above her bed, concentrating on reaching someone from The Team, "_Someone, please hear me!_" her mental voice called out.

* * *

It took nearly all night for the Team to make their way to Brazil. Tigress looked at the clock, sighing that it was nearly midnight already and they had left not long after 6pm. It had taken them six hours to fly their way here, although she had to admit, if it were any other ship they probably wouldn't have been here until the next day. The blond looked out at their team; Nightwing was obsessing like he always does. She let go of a stiff yawn, feeling the strain of being up for a few days. Looking around at everyone, she could see that everyone, except Nightwing, was all pretty much feeling the same.

"Hey, maybe we should relax for the night. Start again in the morning," she suggested in a whisper.

Nightwing looked over his shoulder at her, glaring through his mask, "No. We need to find Zatanna."

"And Dr. Fate…?" Superboy asked, raising a brow at one of his best friends.

"Yeah, right," Nightwing muttered as he looked away from them and looked around their landing spot.

Watching their most veteran and skilled teammate walk away from them to scope things out, Superboy turned to the others, "Have you noticed that he seems a little…off?" he asked.

"Off? Seems to me like he's lost his mind already," Tigress retorted, placing her hands on her hips.

"Nightwing does seem…a bit unstable at the moment," Aqualad agreed quietly.

"Maybe too many nights in his self appointed Batcave," she mocked, making light of his dark storage shed.

In the midst of their conversation, Superboy looked away from them, "Sugar?" he whispered under his breath, looking out at the rooftops ahead of them, the wind blowing lightly in his face.

"Superboy, are you alright?" Miss Martian asked, turning to her distant boyfriend.

"…I think…I heard something…" he muttered, "It was faint though; like a whisper."

They looked at each other, "Are you alright?" Tigress asked curiously, hoping that another of her teammates weren't going crazy.

"I'm fine! It sounded like…Sugar," he replied.

* * *

"Ugh! I'm still too far away from them!" she shouted to herself in frustration. "They can't hear me clearly enough. Wretch!" she turned to her bodyguard, grabbing her bag.

"Yes, ma'am?" he asked, rubbing his head from her mental take over.

"Call Shutter, tell him I'm on my way," she said over her shoulder as she made her way to the exit.

"Yes ma'am," he replied, leaving the room and grabbing the nearest phone.

After conversing with Shutter, he teleported the seer to Brazil; not without proper persuasion though. In a whirl of smoke, she appeared on the streets of Sao Paulo in the dark night that hung over all countries. Looking up at the black sky, she wondered if she would even be able to find the Team in the middle of such a large city. Ranked as one of the largest metropolitan cities in Brazil, there was a possibility that she was in the wrong part of the country. Guess I'll just have to find out, she thought to herself as she walked through the streets, looking around at the surprisingly deserted area. Finding her way to a secluded area where no one would see her, she crossed her legs and began levitating. Closing her eyes, she concentrated on connecting with one of the minds of the Team.

"_Can anyone hear me?_" her mental voice called out.

"_Sugar? Sugar, is that you?_" Nightwing's voice answered.

"_Yes, it's me. I'm in Brazil, where are you guys?_" she asked.

"_We're in Salvador, but…Why are you here?_" he asked with curiosity, finding the fact that she followed them strange.

"_There's something important I have to tell you and the Team. I'll be there as soon as I can! Oh…and don't move,_" she replied as her eyes opened and she cut off the telepathic link.

Standing on her feet, she shifted her weight onto her let leg as her fingers curled around her chin. Hm, now the question remains. How will I get there?, she asked herself as she stared at the dusty ground. Looking up with a smile, she snapped her fingers and pulled something out of her bag. Levitating the spherical object in front of her, her eyes began to glow as the object did. Uttering a few inaudible words, the air around her began to shift and warp until there was a flash of bright light and she was gone. All the way in Salvador, near the coastline, the Team stood, waiting for Sugar to get there after Nightwing told them she would meet up with them.

Hearing the distortion in the air, Superboy took a guarded stance, his friends doing the same even though they couldn't see it. With a flash of light in the shape of a star, Sugar stood before them with the disk still floating in front of her. Opening her eyes, she smiled and grabbed the object, putting it back in her bag.

"Oh good, you're all here," she said walking towards them.

"Sugar, what are you doing here? It's dangerous here and frankly…heroic," Nightwing asked as he and the rest of his team met her half way, crossing his arms across his chest.

"…I'm aware of that," she replied nonchalantly, "But I'm here to tell you something important. I had a vision when I returned home. I think I might know why your friends were kidnapped."

"What?! How could you know?" Aqualad asked, as the others looked at her in shock.

"Have you noticed that there's no light in the sky…like, at all?" she asked, pointing above her.

They all looked up, "I did think that was odd," Miss Martian answered.

"It's part of a spell; a big one. Look, in my vision I saw Klarion the Witch Boy and…some other person I couldn't make out. Now, I know Klarion is a Lord of Chaos so I can only imagine what he has planned," she began to explain, "Because of his nature, he wants chaos to rule and in turn be it's ruler…kind of. He at least wants to order lesser people around, from what I've gathered. If it's the spell I'm thinking of, cause they're aren't that many that block out light, then it will allow him to have chaos reign supreme on earth, forever."

"Is there a way to find him?" Aqualad asked, "Without one of our magicians that is."

Sugar tapped on her cheek, "Mmm…I might be able to do something about that. I mean, I do have a shop full of magical items after all." Setting down her bag, she opened it and began rummaging through it, trying to look for the right item.

Nightwing walked over to her, the sound of Aqualad talking to his teammates in the background, "Why are you really here Sugar? You're no hero, we both know this; so why help us?" he asked, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

She shrugged him off, "Maybe I just want you to owe me one. That is how magic works, you give something to get something…Ahah!" she said as she pulled out what looked like a rotting stick about a foot long.

"Uh…a stick, really?" Superboy asked with hesitance.

"No," she replied as she stood up and threw her bag over her shoulder, "It's the Wand of the Wondrous Crusader. It's like a dowsing rod; helps find mystical things."

"Okay…how does it even-" he began before being cut off when Sugar started walking down the coastline and the tip of the stick glowing red.

The six of them wandered down the coast for what seemed like hours. Without the moon in the sky, it was hard to tell what time it was without looking at a clock. Unsaid to everyone else, Nightwing stared at Sugar's back intently. He knew the girl from the Whispering Gate. He knew the girl that used to beat up thugs for food on the streets of Gotham. And he most certainly knew the girl that would never be caught risking her own life for another. But this girl, he looked her back up and down, he didn't know at all. Something was different about her; off. He didn't know what it was, but something emanating off her just didn't sit right with him.

"So, what's this spell you think Klarion is doing?" Superboy asked, trying to break the somehow uneasy silence.

Her gold eye looked over at him, "It's called a Chaotic Blessing Inversion. It's a three part spell before the true chaos comes. The first spell is- Oh! We're here," she replied, feeling the wand in her hand vibrate and seeing the red light grow brighter.

"It looks like we must swim from here," Aqualad said as they all peered down at the ocean waves.


	7. Deceit

The Team and Sugar came up for air when they finally hit an air pocket. Removing the rebreathers as they all, except Aqualad and Miss Martian, came to the shoreline, they all laid out on the ground. Each one breathing a little heavily from the amount of swimming they had just done and the pressure of the ocean depths weighing down on them. Slowly, one by one, they all got to their feet seeing the cave they had entered. The rocky walls were illuminated aquamarine by the crystal clear waters of the Atlantic Ocean waters, while stalactites dripped water from the ceiling causing eerie echoes throughout the cave.

"This place is so pretty," Miss Martian commented as she looked at all the shades of blue against the walls.

"Indeed," Aqualad agreed. "But we have more pressing matters to attend to and cannot afford to sight see. Sugar, if you will please lead the way."

Looking up as her name was mentioned she nodded and held the wand out in front of her. The red light lit up the tip of the wand and she began walking down the far left tunnel out of the five to choose from. The six of them didn't bother speaking, all of them focused on what needed to be done and almost mentally preparing for the fight they would encounter. However, Nightwing still had his doubts about Sugar. This all seemed, too easy to him. It seemed so convenient that she had a tool to show them the way and they had to do virtually no work to find their friends. What are you playing at Sugar? He thought to himself.

As the red light lit up the dark cave and the silence hung in the air, Miss Martian fiddled with the end of her short cape. Her amber eyes kept looking over at Superboy and thinking and wondering. What was she going to do if he did have feelings for Sugar? Would she cry or fly into a rage? Of course she would cry. It would be heartbreaking for her. But would she get so angry that she would attack them? Would she hide it? Or would she simply ignore it like she did when she and Conner broke up?

"_Is there something on your mind?_" Superboy asked as he glanced over at her.

She squeaked in her mind, hearing his voice so suddenly, "_Oh! Um…um, no. Nothing really, just hoping that Zatanna and Dr. Fate are alright,_" she lied.

"Do you hear that?" Tigress asked hearing a low whirling sound echoing off the cavern walls.

Sugar stopped, putting the wand away, "We're close. They should be just over there," she whispered as she continued to walk.

As the six of them walked for another ten minutes, they could all see a light at the end of the long corridor. Quietly, they jog out to the opening, taking cover behind some large rocks. Looking out over them, the Team and Sugar could see Klarion the Witch Boy levitating, in the center of the opening, in front of two golden spheres. In the spheres they could see the shape of Dr. Fate and Zatanna in their own respective bubble. Below them was a large glowing golden circle full of symbols they didn't know. On the opposite side of Klarion, facing the mouth of the cave, a woman with long violet hair and garments of purple and gold levitated at his same height. She wore a headpiece that looked like it gave her horns and a long, flowing cape billowing behind her.

"Who is that?" Superboy whispered, having never seen this woman before in his life.

"It's Circe. She's a Goddess…" Nightwing replied with a serious grim tone, knowing full well who she was from how many times he's hacked the bat computer.

The rest of them looked at him, "A Goddess?! This is bad. How the hell are we supposed to take on a Goddess?!" Tigress asked in a loud whisper.

"Very carefully," Sugar answered as she silently slipped away from them.

"Sugar, wait!" Nightwing tried to stop her, but she was already too far to hear his whispered voice.

"Your girlfriend moves really fast," Tigress joked as they watched her remove her shoes so she made even less noise.

Nightwing shot her a scowl, "She's not my girlfriend!"

The rest of them started moving in closer, following Sugar's lead but Nightwing's suspicions about her only grew with this act of daring. She was no hero; she even said so herself. She had also said she didn't want to see them again and yet here she was. This scenario felt like a ruse to him, but at the same time it led them straight to their friends. Looking up at the two villains, he noticed Circe was gone! He stopped and tried to look for her until a bolt of magic hit him and the others, sending them all flying back.

"Did you really think we wouldn't see you?" she laughed, appearing before them in a swirl of gold and purple.

"Well we were hoping you wouldn't," Nightwing groaned as he sat up, feeling the sting of her magic course through his body.

"Simple minded fools!" her hands were engulfed in purple aura as she raised them up, the Team rising with them; enchanted chains began to snake up their bodies and coil around them.

The Team struggled against their newly acquired bonds, finding that her magic was strong enough to hold even Superboy. "Where'd Sugar go?" Superboy asked after Circe had returned to the magic circle holding their friends.

"I dunno, but there has to be a good reason for her to disappear," Nightwing replied, grunting as he continued to struggle against the magical chains.

They could hear laughing from the circle, "What's so funny?!" Tigress shouted, glaring at the godly witch.

"What's funny girl, is that you think Sugar is real," she answered, once again leaving her position to hover in front of Tigress' face.

"How could she not be? We have all seen her; heard her," Aqualad stated firmly.

The Goddess chuckled, "Have you? Truly…" she floated towards Nightwing, "He secretly wants to be like Batman so much that he created an antihero for himself. A little made up tryst like that of Batman and that cat thief," she taunted, caressing his cheek.

Nightwing pulled away from her touch with disgust, "Lies!" he spat.

She leaned in close to his face, "You know I'm right," she sniggered as she tapped a finger against his forehead playfully. Her eyes narrowed and she purred seductively, "I will enjoy making you men my personal mindless Beastiamorphs."

"Do your worst," Superboy hissed with a glare.

"Like we would really let you go through with that!" Miss Martian shouted defiantly. Her eyes began to glow red as a large boulder levitated off the ground, being hurled at Circe's back.

Quickly the Goddess turned, her hand erupting in purple aura and the boulder turning into a flock of doves. She turned towards the Martian, "You'll have to do better."

"_NIGHTWING!_" a voice screamed in Nightwing's head causing him to hiss in pain.

Nightwing looked around curiously, "Sugar?" he asked in a whisper. I knew it, he thought. Looking over to Miss Martian he opened a mental link with her, telling her of a plan he had. He watched her nod and turn her attention back to Circe.

Miss Martian's eyes lit up red as multiple rocks and boulders began to fly at the Goddess. As the violet haired witch began destroying the earth being hurled at her Nightwing wrestled with his utility belt. While she was distracted, Superboy also took the opportunity to forcibly break the magic surrounding him. Dropping onto all fours, he huffed and puffed, having to use all his strength to break free. Hearing Circe scream in frustration, there was a large spherical burst of magical energy and all the rocks and boulders were vaporized. Turning back to face the Team, she noticed Superboy was free and on the ground. With an annoyed growl, she scowled as she lifted him from the ground as he caught his breath.

"You stupid mortal," she hissed venomously. Narrowing her glare, a collar of purple magic appeared around Superboy's throat, slowly crushing his windpipe.

"He's not the only stupid one around here!" Nightwing called from the shadows.

Looking around, she kept her grip on Superboy, "If you don't show yourself, Superboy will die," she threatened. The clone howled in pain as the magic grip grew tighter.

There was a sharp jab to her back and as she turned around, Nightwing wrapped one of his Eskrima Sticks around her neck and threw her over his shoulder and onto her back. Quickly he jumped on top of her, "I hope you're right…" he muttered as the end of his weapon sparked with electrical energy and jammed it into her left arm just as she was about to attack him.

Circe screamed in agonizing pain as her body was shocked with twenty thousand volts of electricity. The moment the Goddess blacked out, the enchantment around the Team disappeared and they all dropped to the ground. Superboy grabbed his throat, rubbing it softly as he coughed harshly. They all gathered around the downed sorceress as Nightwing got off her, watching as the image of Circe disappeared slowly and Sugar was seen lying lifeless on the ground; the red scarf around her arm having been burned off by the electrical charge.

"What's going on?! Why is Sugar dressing up as Circe?" Superboy asked angrily, glaring at her limp body as he rubbed his throat again.

There was laughter heard echoing around them, each of them taking a defensive stance except Nightwing, who just stood there and stared down at Sugar, "Well, well, well, I never would have guessed you would kill a friend Nightwing," Sugar's voice echoed as her form came into view in a shimmer of magical particles.

"Obviously you don't know what I'm capable of," he muttered, not bothering to look up at her.

The rest of the Team looked over at him in shock, "You did what?!" Tigress shouted.

"No, he would never…" Miss Martian breathed as she shook her head.

"Oh yes," Sugar began with a smirk, walking closer to Nightwing and draping herself around him, "The only way to break most spells is to sever the connection. In other words, kill the person under the spell." Her fingers playfully drummed against his chest, "And your honorable teammate put her out of her misery."

Superboy glared at his friend, walking up to him and grabbing him by the collar of his costume, "How could you do something like that?!" he asked angrily.

Nightwing's gaze fell to Sugar's lifeless body, "I had no choice…" he replied.

Superboy was about to punch him when they all heard the sound of someone drawing in a precious and much needed breath of air. Looking down, they saw Sugar heaving and coughing violently, "How dare you trick me!" Sugar's doppelganger shouted.

"We're smarter than we look Circe," Nightwing taunted with a smirk of his own as he looked up at her.

"Hm," she huffed as the appearance of Sugar disappeared and her true form was revealed. "No matter, we both know that the only thing she knows how to do is use and hurt people," she taunted. Sugar's lips moved, whispering something inaudible as the six of them were engulfed in light and disappeared.

"Did you have your fun?" Klarion finally spoke, breaking from his position and trance he had been in.

Circe smirked devilishly, "I do so love sewing the seeds of deceit," she replied. She turned to her accomplice, "Is the first half of our spell finished?"

"It's beginning now," Klarion replied as his lips curled into the most evil smile the boy could muster.


	8. Dead Love Alive

The six of them appeared in front of the Bio Ship in a blinding flash of light. All, but Nightwing, were discussing their current predicament about the teaming up of Circe and Klarion the Witch Boy. Nightwing knelt down beside Sugar, removing the burnt pieces of the red scarf from her arm. Staring down at the hideous scar wrapping around her upper arm, he sighed to himself. Grabbing the sheer, purple fabric of the larger scarf wrapped around her waist, he wrapped it around her scar. He knew how she felt about showing it off and out of some weird misplaced respect for her, he helped cover it up. He was tempted to brush her bangs from her face but refrained as she groaned. They all turned as he stood up and took a step or two back.

"I'm fine by the way…." she mumbled as she slowly sat up, hissing at the pain shooting up and down her left arm, "Ya know, if anyone was wondering."

"Well, we're more wondering why you were posing as Circe," Tigress asked, placing a hand against her hip.

Sugar's mismatched eyes looked up at the Team, then looked away from them, "She kidnapped me after I got home…" she replied. "The moment you left, she was there," she added as she looked up to Miss Martian.

"Why didn't you call one of us?" Nightwing asked.

"Are you serious?!" she asked, slowly getting to her feet and holding her left arm. "I was kidnapped by a Goddess! How exactly do you expect me to call you? Do you honestly think she would have let me just pick up a phone and go 'Hey Nightwing, I've been kidnapped by a Goddess; this is where we're going. Why don't you just come pick me up?' Do you even hear yourself?!" she shouted at him, scowling. "I knew something like this would happen. Ever since we were kids, every time I get near you," she pointed a finger in Nightwing face, "I end up having something crazy happening to me!" With a disgruntled huff, she spun around and walked away from them.

"Should we…go after her?" Miss Martian asked, all of them a little taken back by her outburst.

Nightwing sighed, running a hand through his hair, "You guys stay here, get some rest. I'll go get her…" he paused, "This is between us after all. I'll be back in a few."

* * *

Sugar walked her exhausted body all the way back to the coast. With no sleep, over exhausting her psychic powers, being electrocuted, posing as a Goddess and having no feeling in her arm, she was surprised she hadn't just keeled over yet. Then again, she was used to such taxing punishment. With a soft sigh she looked up at the black sky, her long ebony hair gently caressing her shoulders from the sea breeze. Touching the coarse, purple fabric wrapped around her arm, she tried to curl her fingers into a fist but nothing happened. Looking down at her apparently useless arm, she tried again.

"What are you doing here?" she asked, no one even near her.

"Figured you could use someone to talk too," an echoed voice said as Wally West stood beside her.

Slowly she looked up from her dead arm to the ghostly figure of the former hero, "Yeah, and why is that?" she asked.

"Well for one, I know how they think. And two, something tells me you listen to dead people more than living people," he replied looking over at her.

"Hn, dead people are easier to get along with," she said with a slight shrug of her shoulders.

"I take that as a compliment," he said with a smile, "But you're alive, why not even try and get along with other people?" he asked.

She sighed and looked back out at the ocean, "…People suck."

"I don't believe that. Everyone is hard to get along with, look at you for instance. But once you overcome that, people are great! I mean, it took us losing our memory for Artemis and I to truly see the good in each other, rather than be clouded by the idea I had of her trying to replace my friend," Wally stated as he too looked to the ocean.

"That reminds me. Why are you even still hanging around here? Shouldn't you have moved on by now?" she asked, looking at his transparent frame curiously.

He gave a light chuckle, "Actually I was hoping you could help me with that."

"Sugar? Who are you talking too?" Nightwing's voice asked from behind her.

The medium looked over her shoulder at him, then to the invisible speedster, "Oh…no one. What do you want?" she asked, turning to face him.

"I…." he began, taking a half step closer to her before stopping and going quiet.

Sugar cocked a brow at him, watching his body language look awkward. That was unusual for him; he was always so calm, cool and sure of himself. Watching him feel uncomfortable and not know what to say was almost pathetic to look at. If he were acting like this, then she knew there had to be something important on his mind. Placing her working hand on her hip, she looked as if she were waiting for him to finally find the words to speak to her but what she was actually doing was peeking into his mind. Looking through the fog that he used to block telepaths, she found that he was actually worried about her. He had hesitated in electrocuting her in fear that it might have actually killed her. He was the one that replaced the fabric around her scar, knowing how she felt about it and feeling guilty for it. Moving her right hand to the scarf, she left his mind.

"Why do you still carry guilt around?" she asked softly.

He looked at her with a little bit of surprise showing on his features, "Because that scar is my fault. What happened to you was my fault! I was young and stupid, and took unnecessary risks."

"Is that what you really think?" she grunted as a sting of pain pierced her tendons. She removed the scarf to show the large scar that wrapped around her arm, "Richard, this wasn't your fault. I don't blame you for this. This happened because I made a decision, not because you made a bad call."

"…" he was about to reply when he watched her cringe in pain. "Does it hurt?" he asked as he walked closer to her.

"Just a little," she replied as she looked up at him.

Slowly he reached out and placed his gloved hands on the scar, "How did you know that would even work?"

Sugar hesitated a bit, "…I didn't actually." She let her gaze drop away from him as he gently gripped her arm, "But I just thought that if we gave my brain a memory overload, that the strain would be too much and shut it down to trick the spell into thinking I had died."

"That was a dumb idea. That could have actually killed you," he said with a firm disapproving look.

"Chyeah! Now my arm is just useless for a while," she stated. When he looked at her curiously she continued, "The already damaged nerve endings and muscles are either more damaged or still just in shock. Right now, it's a useless arm. I can't even curl my fingers."

Nightwing grabbed the large piece of fabric from her, "You know…" he paused as he began making a sling for her arm, "You're the only one that actually calls me by my full name."

She looked down at her arm, smiled and looked up at him, "Well I could always call you Dick if you prefer."

"No…I actually like it," he said as he looked down at her, giving a small smile of his own and leaning in closer to her.

"Whoa…" she said, placing her fingers against his lips, "We have way to weird of a history to do stuff that will only make it weirder."

He stood back up right, blushing in embarrassment a little, "Yeah…I guess you're right…"

"But…" she paused, stood on her tip toes and kissed his cheek, "Thank you. Now let's get back to the others, I'm exhausted."

* * *

Nightwing and Sugar returned the group well into the early morning. They had gotten a hotel room and all of them had split into two rooms; the boys in one and girls in another. Aqualad had asked if the Bio Ship could accommodate them all but, but Miss Martian had told them no. However, they dressed in civilian clothes, save for Sugar and Superboy, and rented the rooms for the night. As Sugar entered the girl's room, she took note of an empty bed. Looking around, she saw Tigress out on the tiny balcony connected to their room. She seemed to be staring up at the blackened sky dressed in nothing but an oversized t-shirt. Turning her gaze to the carpet of the floor, she exhaled a large breath before walking towards the balcony.

Staring at the back of Artemis, she began to feel uncomfortable. Her long blonde hair swayed in the ominous wind of the dark night. The t-shirt that hung just above her knees followed suit and a blanket of goose bumps coated her legs. Taking her gaze away from the seemingly at peace heroine, she wondered to herself if what she was about to was a good idea. Looking back up, she drew in a deep breath and exhaled slowly as she opened the sliding door to the balcony.

"Artemis?" she breathed softly.

The blond turned to look at her with a look of curiosity, "What?"

Staring at her without a word, she could see Wally standing beside his girlfriend, "….Here goes nothing…" she sighed as she rubbed the back of her neck. "I have a message from Wally…" she started, looking from his ghostly form to her brown eyes.

"What?!" she shouted, glaring at her. Without letting Sugar answer, Artemis grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and threw her against the railing of the balcony, "How dare you talk about Wally in front of me!" she hissed through gritted teeth.

"Ngh!" Sugar grunted as her back slammed into the concrete. "Hey…I'm not doing this to get some kind of sick enjoyment. He wanted me to tell you something, so will you just shut your trap and listen!?" she shouted right back, returning the glare Artemis was giving her.

"You have no right to talk about my dead boyfriend in any way, shape, or form. You're nothing but an imposter and I don't trust you…" she replied in a low growl, gripping the small shirt tighter.

For a moment, Sugar refrained from speaking a word, almost finding Artemis's words hurtful. As the two women had a glaring contest Sugar brought up her right hand and placed her fingers against the blonds' head. Artemis's eyes widened and she gasped as she was pulled from reality and thrust deep into the recesses of her mind. Both of their bodies dropped to their knees, Sugar's hand the only thing connecting the two of them while her eyes were glowing a soft pastel purple. Inside Artemis's mind, the images of her time spent with Wally streamed by like a river of images above her head. Looking around, she saw Sugar standing not too far from her and angrily attacked her.

"Get out of my head!" she screamed as she tackled Sugar to the ground.

Taken by surprised, Sugar screamed and fell on her back while throwing her arms up to protect herself, "Wait!" she shouted through her assault.

"I can't believe you have the audacity to just invade someone's mind like this! You know stuff like this is a huge invasion of privacy! How dare you read my mind and invade the time I had with Wally!" she continued to scream as tears began to stream down her face, the same thing happening to her physical body.

"I'm not reading your damn mind!" Sugar replied through the attack, "I'm only acting as a spiritual anchor!"

Artemis stopped, looking at her in confusion, "What do you mean?"

"You two look like a married couple…" another voice said from behind them, a tone of amusement in it.

Her brown eyes widened at the familiarity of the voice. She looked over her shoulder, "Wally?" Artemis whispered in shock, "But how?"

"Hey babe, miss me?" he asked with a court wave and his signature goofy smile.

"See?" Sugar huffed, "Now get off me!" she said as she pushed Artemis off her. Getting up, she brushed herself off, her left arm being able to move, "And we most definitely are no married couple."

Wally chuckled, "Could've fooled me."

"Oh shut up," she said as she crossed her arms, "Now hurry up, I don't have much time." She added as she turned away from the couple to give them their privacy.

The sun began to rise not long after the girls had collapsed on the balcony. Amazing colors of orange, pink and blue began to surface in the sky to signify the bringing of the new day and the end of the strange ominous night. Rays from the sun hit Miss Martian's fake Caucasian skin as she rolled around in bed. Feeling her arm begin to feel warm from the sun, she slowly opened her eyes, her sight blurred and unable to focus. As she tried to adjust her eyes to the neutral colors of the walls of their room, she slowly sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes of sleep. Stretching her body, she looked around and saw Artemis and Sugar out on the balcony with both of their eyes glowing, Artemis crying and Sugar's hand on her head. Thinking that Sugar might be doing something to Artemis, Miss Martian quickly got the boys by density shifting into their room and telling them of what she saw.

All four of them came running into the room quickly, flinging the door open without a care. The boys looked shocked for a moment before all of them threw open the balcony door and tried to wake them up. Superboy angrily asked if Miss Martian could go into their minds and bring them back, but when she tried she wasn't even able to scratch the surface and forced back. She shook her head and told them there was some kind of mental barrier around them. Not knowing what to do, the only thing that seemed like they could do was wait for them to emerge on their own.

It wasn't too long after Miss Martian tried to breach their connection that both girls were forced apart. Still on her knees, Artemis leaned forward and cried into her arms as she lay on the concrete that made up the balcony. Sugar groaned as she grabbed her head, but she didn't have long as Conner grabbed her by her shirt with a look of pure rage on his face.

"What did you do to Artemis?!" he shouted at her.

Sugar cringed under the volume of his voice, "Can you please not shout? I have a pounding headache," she replied.

"Do you think I'm joking?!" Conner continued, thinking her comment was a smartass retort. "What did you do to Artemis?" he asked again, this time in a venomous hiss that was reminiscent of pure evil.

Gently, a hand touched Conner's upper arm, "Conner…" Artemis cut in, her voice cracking from her crying, "She didn't do anything to me."

"Then…" Miss Martian came to Artemis's side, "Why are you crying?" she asked.

"She…" her hand left Conner and she covered her face as she continued to cry. Miss Martian wrapped her arms around her best friend to console her, "She let me see Wally again!" she sobbed, flinging her face into Miss Martian's chest and wrapping her arms around the Martian.

The four of them looked stunned by this revelation, all of them looking back at her and Sugar just staring at them as if to say 'I told you so.' "You…how?" Conner asked, his voice lowered considerably.

"I'm a medium remember," she answered as she pushed his hands off her. She dropped on her butt as Conner had lifted her up a little in his misplaced anger, "Nice to know I'm not trusted though…" she mumbled as she got up and adjusted her clothes. Without a word, she got up and walked past everyone as they all looked back at her (except Artemis) and then back to each other.


	9. Rite of the Thirteen Eternal Beasts

Sugar pushed aside her frustration, knowing that the Team didn't trust her as far as they could throw her; with Superboy on their side, that was pretty far too. Her flat, beige sandals padded softly against the concrete floors as she made her way out of the hotel they had stayed in. The moment she pushed open the glass door, she had to shield her eyes from the rays of the sun. Taking a moment to adjust her eye sight to the bright light, she yawned and stretched her body as far as it would go, earning a few light cracks from her bones. She was far too exhausted. No sleep in almost three days and constantly draining her power away to help these heroic fools was taking its toll, not that she would ever show it. No matter what, she had to endure. She could never show them she was beginning to tire.

"Feh, I guess the only thing you taught me-" her words were cut off as the ground below her feet gave a lurch. Looking down at her feet curiously, she watched the dirt shift under her ever so slightly.

Waiting a few minutes, suddenly she was trying to maintain her balance as the earth rumbled and broke apart beneath her. Her body swayed to the movements of the ground before being thrown to her knees. As she hit the dirt, she could hear the screams of nearby people. Looking up, she saw buildings begin to tumble down, crushing people, vehicles, plants and other buildings. One by one, they fell as the earth split and jumped from its place. Holes were ripping open, tears were crumbling apart and rocks were flying everywhere! As the gust of dirt and smoke blew through the town, her ebony locks billowed into her face as she watched the world seem to break apart at the seams. While she was watching everything unfold before her, she didn't take notice of the rising gas in front of her.

The look of shock was ever present on her face as she watched this city being stripped away from the planet. Hearing something off in the distance, she slowly turned her head towards the coastline. Shock grew into terror as she saw the enormous wall of water growing ever bigger just miles from the shore. The tidal wave would soon come crashing down on them all, erasing this coastal city within minutes; a far cry faster than the earthquakes. With all her might, she pushed herself to her knees. She had no idea what to do! She heard the sound of Aqualad's voice shout above her, turning her attention to the heroes she had accompanied here. They sprang into action, trying to save as many people as they could in the short amount of time they had. Without warning, the ground in front of her exploded! The resulting explosion caused Sugar to be thrown into a large piece of a nearby demolished building and giant boulders and rocks slamming into her.

With a low rumble, a large boulder shifted and fell forward revealing Sugar. The Hispanic beauty groaned and fell forward, drifting in and out of unconsciousness. She vaguely felt someone wrap their arm around her waist, the feel of wind blowing through her hair and echoing screams of terror. When she felt something solid beneath her, her eyes began to flutter open and what she saw was a beat up Superboy hovering above her. Touching her hand to her temple, she hissed as she sat up slowly and looked up at the five heroes; they seemed preoccupied by the scene behind her. Dare she look? Would she be astounded by the casualties? Horrified by the destruction?

Against her better judgment she turned around. Sitting on her knees, she felt her jaw drop as her eyes lay upon the devastating scene before them. The skies had turned red with thick, ashen clouds blocking out the light. Buildings upon buildings had crumbled to the ground where only foundation now stood, a troubling reminder of the broken earth. Water turned black, thick and murky like oil; this only rang true as the once clear blue water caught fire, turning into a burning sea of death. Patrons had either been rescued, disappeared or turned to stone, with looks of fear forever etched onto their faces. The winds that blew were no longer calming and warm, but harsh and soul sucking as your throat dried up from breathing in the ash filled air.

"What happened?" Tigress breathed in horror, all of them frozen with shock.

It took a moment, but Sugar answered, "The Rite of Thirteen Eternal Beasts…"

"I'm sorry, the what?" Superboy asked, confused and looking a little angered that she knew what was happening.

Sugar sighed heavily, her shoulders slumping as she turned to face them, "It's part of an extremely powerful spell. I've only heard about it in legends; I never thought it was real until now…" she paused as she took another quick look over her shoulder, "I had seen Klarion performing something but…this…" she trailed off, her gaze falling to the dirt beneath her.

Superboy grabbed her by her shoulders tightly, forcing her to look at him, "This what?! What did they do?! And how do you know about it!" he screamed, furious about all the people that had died, hearing their last screams and final breaths. It was something he had never experienced before.

"I wouldn't necessarily blame just Klarion and Circe," a bemused voice spoke from the shadows, which had now become overabundant.

Everyone turned, Sugar looking over Superboy's shoulder, to see the ominous man from the island Zatanna had been taken from. He stood behind them, as straight as someone in the military who had worked on their posture their entire lives. To them he seemed to have some sort of calm about him, even around all this death and destruction. "What do you mean?" Nightwing asked, feeling weary about this man before them.

He chuckled lightly, "The final step to this particular spell is…complicated, to say the least." His figure disappeared into the shadows, only to reappear next to Sugar, catching Superboy and everyone else off guard. Grabbing Sugar by the scar of her left arm, earning a wail of pain from her, he brought her to her feet, "The Rite of Thirteen Eternal Beasts. A nifty little spell for a Lord of Chaos and a witch that just wants to watch the world burn to ashes; one that brings the very beasts from myth and legend to the surface of the Earth…" he touched his lips to her cheek, his skin icy cold, "To be successfully pulled off, it requires a psychic to help a spirit move on."

"Wally…" Sugar gasped, her eyes widening in realization as to why he hadn't moved on right away. It wasn't because Artemis couldn't let go, it was because they were to be conduits for the spell!

"That's right…" he breathed into her ear, earning a disgusted grunt from her.

"I still don't understand…" Aqualad spoke up, confused as to the treatment of Sugar by this man and the magic he spoke of.

His sinister red eyes looked upon them, glowing with evil intent, "The witch Circe had our dear Sugar to finish off the very last detail of the spell that has just devastated the world." With another chuckle, he threw Sugar to the dirt before disappearing and leaving only the echo of his laughter behind.

"I…I didn't…" she trailed off, not knowing what to say or do. She had no idea that she would be used to fulfill part of such an evil plot. It made her think, had she really scrubbed all of Circe's magic from her mind?

"I knew you couldn't be trusted!" Superboy shouted as he grabbed her and slammed her against a burnt tree. The look of rage had taken over his normally calm features as he stared into her blank, mismatched eyes.

"Superboy!" Nightwing shouted in shock as they all watch him lose his cool, which was rare nowadays.

Superboy glared daggers at Sugar, who looked like she wasn't even home, "No! You didn't hear what I heard. You don't know what it was like to hear all that pain, the terror. The sound of people dying, begging for their lives, praying that someone would protect them…" his voice lowered, remembering all the sounds of terrified people. Miss Martian placed a gentle hand on her boyfriend's shoulder, none of them really knowing what to say.

Within the recesses of Sugar's mind, she walked through the darkness, the fog which blanketed her feet. She wandered in the darkness, reminded of the dark places her mind could take her. Unaware of what was transpiring to her in the real world, she pressed forward trying to find traces of the evil, immortal witch still remnant in her mind. Instead of finding the likeness of the Goddess, she found the man that had come to haunt her every waking nightmare. He strolled through her dreams as if to taunt her; constantly whistling a dark tune. His regal posture and smooth features were haunting and imposing as his menacing grin invaded her thoughts like the Cheshire cat within the world of Wonderland. His, was a form she had come to despise.

"What are you doing here?!" she growled angrily, glaring daggers at him.

He stood, mute, staring at her and seemed amused by her anger towards him. He knew it was, more than likely, well placed, but it still earned a chuckle from his pale lips. "My dear, dear Sugar…" he began, pausing a moment to touch his fingers to his lips for but a second before speaking again, "I'm only here as a favor to you."

"Favor? To me?" she inquired, raising an eyebrow at the seemingly foreign act of kindness.

"Aye, my dear," he replied with a court bow.

Crossing her arms under her chest, she looked him up and down in curiosity as he bowed to her, "…And what favor is that, might I ask?"

He straightened his back, starting to slowly take the steps necessary to close the gap between them, "Why, to expunge Circe from your mind. That is what you came here to do, right?" he asked, a coy chuckle engraved in his tone.

She glared at him again, "How dare you invade my mind to play as you will!" she shouted. "My mind is not your personal playground and I wish the utmost brutal death upon you!"

"Death, upon me?" he asked in mock surprise that she would say such words. That was soon replaced by a cold grin, spread as wide as it could go, across his face as he disappeared from her line of sight, only to reappear behind her, lips pressed against her skin, "Death can never come to me. I am the Endless, the End, the Beginning, the Cold, the Blood. My name literally means the Enduring. My dear, sweet Sugar, I will always be here. There is nothing, there is no one, which can rid this or any other world of my reach…" his cold, icy voice hissed against her skin causing a chill to run down her spine.

She whipped around quick, "Dante!" she breathed, her breath able to be seen in the now freezing temperature of her mind. He was gone.

Retreating from her mind, she looked up at the Team standing before her and Superboy still grasping her within his strong hands. It seemed that none of them had noticed her disappearing act as she awoke just in time to see Miss Martian place and hand upon his shoulder. Now fully awake and aware of her surroundings, the numbing pain of her left arm caused her to hiss and jerk away from the half Kryptonian. Dropping back to her knees she massaged her arm as they all turned back to her from the miserable hero. Turning her attention away from them, she attended and nursed her arm, trying to regain all the feeling and usage she could out of it. Superboy advanced on the raven haired beauty, a look of anger plastered on his face, and backed her against a large rock.

Placing his hands on either side of her shoulders, he boxed her in against the rock, "What did you have to do with this?" he asked in a low growl.

Looking at him, she held a glare of her own. Breathing in the ashen air, she felt her throat dry up instantly, "Back off Wonder Boy," she spat dryly.

"Wonder Boy?" he asked with a puzzled look on his face at the strange nickname. The lapse in anger was for but a moment and soon returned to his strong features, "Don't try and get out of this!"

Gritting her teeth and growling low in her throat, she pushed him, "Get out of what exactly?!" she asked angrily as she stood up. "Listen here Wonder Boy, I didn't do anything wrong! This spell is freaking ancient! How was I supposed to know that it required a psychic to help a spirit pass on!" she paused and looked over at Tigress, "I'm sorry about that by the way." Looking back at Superboy, she glared and shoved him again, "How dare you try and accuse me of being a double crosser when all I've tried to do was help you find your lost friends! If you want someone to blame, blame the ones responsible; not the one trying to help!" she screamed, well aware of how much she was currently invading his personal space by being so close and in his face.

Superboy looked down at her, being taller than her slim, slightly smaller than average frame. He couldn't believe she had the nerve to get in his face like that and blatantly disregard everyone else around them; as if the two of them were in their own tug-o-war match. She had nerve and an attitude he wished would be snuffed out; it was very unbecoming. But in all honesty she had to see where he was coming from. How could she not? Someone impersonated her, dressed her up as the bad guy and then used her to pull off something as huge as bringing every mythical and legendary beast to the surface of the planet! Her intense gaze was something to remember, it bore holes into the inner most parts of your soul. It made you feel hot and breathless as those mismatched eyes seemed to be right at home looking straight through you. He watched her closely as her stare softened and looked over his shoulder.

"We need to go," she muttered, her angered tone having disappeared along with her glare.

Aqualad looked behind him, his eyes widening in fright, "She's right, we need to leave…" he agreed, looking to the rest of his Team.

"No! she has to pay for the things she did," Superboy stated firmly, glaring at her still.

"Now!" Aqualad shouted, placing a hand on his friend's shoulder.

Behind them barreled beasts of all sizes and dimensions. They ran towards them like a wave crashing its way onto a rocky shore. Some flew, some galloped, some ran and some slithered, but all raced towards the fresh human meat just standing around doing nothing. The Team quickly ran from their hiding spot and to the cloaked Bio Ship, Miss Martian telepathically calling out to it to pick them all up. The whirl of the engine alerted them all that the ship was before them, it only being affirmed when the hanger opened for them to board. Without a second thought, all six of them ran aboard and took off at full speed, away from the horde of monsters running at them.

The silence sitting between them all was long and drawn out as they flew through the sky and stared down at what was once lush, living ground beneath them. Now though, that once green land was now covered in black ash and blood; it all suddenly seemed like a dream they had all been living. Being the odd person out, Sugar opted to stand, even despite her fear of flying, and pressed her forehead against the glass of the ship. Her eyes downcast and watching the horrible beasts take over what people remained and claim the land as their own haven. What were they to do? She didn't know this type of magic. Her studies only went so far, but something like this! Something this advanced was way above anything she knew or had ever even read about while studying. There was nothing so could do to help them. They were all doomed.

A sudden jerk of the hanger caused her to bump her head against the glass and brace herself. Looking over her shoulder, she looked as everyone tried to hang on and shake off the onset of turbulence that had gripped the Bio Ship. Looking back out the window, she saw nothing. There were no stranger weather patterns then what they were currently experiencing, no beasts in the surrounding area, nothing. What could be causing the sudden turbulence? Her throat let go of a yelp as she was now thrown into the window, slamming her face and upper body against the clear surface.

Superboy looked over his shoulder as they all lurched forward with the Bio Ship, "M'gann?" he said as he looked back at their pilot to try and figure out why they were taking such a dangerous and sudden action. "M'gann!" he shouted, quickly throwing his seat belts aside and running to her side.

Miss Martian sat limp in her pilot's seat, slumped over one side of the chair, eyes closed and unconscious. Superboy tried to wake her up but it seemed no matter what he tried she just refused to snap out of it! Nightwing called out for everyone to brace for impact but Sugar was still stuck against the glass, the g-force weighing her down. Her golden watched as the tainted ground got closer and closer to them and she desperately tried to push herself up. Nightwing called out to her, the alarms and air blaring around them and almost drowning out his voice. He reached out to her and she slowly stretched her hand to try and grasp his before impact; maybe he could pull her to safety before they crashed. In her chest she felt her heart racing as she stared at him and the panic on his face. With all her might, she was just inches from his finger tips, pushing against the force with all that she had!

The Bio Ship crashed into the ground, forging a large crater in its impact and everything went black.


End file.
